Coffee And A Slice Of History

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Vietnam's relentless modernization means there are increasingly fewer opportunities to step back into the country's past. But the splendid Café Tung is an exception. With its retro skai-covered sofas and Jacques Brel posters, it looks more like a 1960s Parisian cellar than a coffee shop in the present-day Central Highlands town of Dalat. Not that there are any complaints from the clientele, who comprise a fair slice of Dalat's artists and intellectuals (the town is Vietnam's pre-eminent bohemian enclave).

From early morning, they gather to read the papers and suck down potent glasses of ca...